HOUSTON – Charlotte women’s soccer found itself down early again and could not complete a comeback, dropping a 4-1 decision at Rice Sunday afternoon in the final regular-season road match of the campaign.

Junior Maddie Kiebel provided the lone 49ers’ score, at 50:45, when she sprinted down the right flank after receiving pass from classmate Tori Fubara. Kiebel then wasted little time, using a long-range shot while still far outside the 18-yard box, to the left-side netting to cut the deficit in half at that point.

The Owls staked an early 1-0 lead when Lauren Hughes corralled a loose ball eight yards out and placed it just inside the left post, past a diving attempted save from redshirt junior Annika McHenry at the 5:49 mark.

Both teams had looks throughout the opening stanza, with senior Amanda Jones sending a sliding shot from the left side towards the right post. Unfortunately for her, it deflected off the post and trickled just wide, keeping the Niners off the board.

Rice (10-3-3, 6-2-1 C-USA) then added its second goal at 34:37 when Holly Hargreaves found Gabriela Iribarne, who sent a hard shot into the upper right corner of the frame, over a leaping McHenry.

Freshman Martha Thomas nearly put Charlotte (7-7-2, 4-4-1 C-USA) on the board in the 48th minute as she sprinted free from the Owls defense after receiving a pass from sophomore Rebecca Beatty. Thomas’s attempt was deflected wide, however, by Rice goalkeeper Amy Czyz, giving the Niners a corner kick opportunity.

Iribarne added her second of the afternoon, at 70:56, as she knocked in a Danielle Spriggs assist from the left corner of the box.

Hargreaves took her turn at scoring, putting in the home team’s fourth goal of the match, at 78:11 as her low shot on a Lauren Hughes assist scooted through the 49ers defense and hands of McHenry.

Redshirt senior Jennifer Lee gave the Niners one last chance, after sophomore Perri Bonner drew a foul just outside the 18-yard box. Lee’s free kick ricocheted off the Owls’ defensive unit with under 30 seconds remaining in regulation.

Charlotte will end the regular season in front of Niner Nation at 7 p.m. Thursday when it plays host to Middle Tennessee.